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Inventive Species Template
No matter how clever humans think they are, there is inevitably one or more species roaming the cosmos who are looking down on them and laughing at their attempts to appear smart. Arrogant and assertive, the Inventive Species gets around their physical limitations with the power of logical reasoning, much like gnomes in other fantasy worlds. Characteristics Intelligent Species have the following adjustments to their Base Characteristics: * Intelligence: +3. Maximum Cap: +6 to Intelligence cap ** Intelligent Species spend most of their leisure time studying or practicing trade skills, sharpening their minds in ways other creatures are incapable of doing. * Strength: -3. Maximum Cap: -6 to Strength Cap ** The way Intelligent Species approach manual labor follows this logic: why lift things themselves when they can build something to do it for them? This aversion to labor stunts their physical growth and limits their strength. Skills Skill Bonuses: +1d6 Persuasion * Intelligent Species use their logic to form near-flawless arguments, helping them convince other creatures that their point of view is correct. Skill Penalties: -1d6 Charm * Logic is sometimes a curse rather than a benefit; people don't like hearing things that challenge their beliefs, and Intelligent Species find it difficult to endear others towards them because they're so convinced they have the right answers. Suggested Abilities There is no reason Intelligence Species shouldn't be channeling Powers, as their massive intellects give them an advantage when developing supernatural abilities. Structures will keep enemies from approaching them, and Telekinesis will help compensate for their lack of physical Strength. Intelligent Species will also usually have multiple limbs they can use as Hands, represented by taking the Extra Limbs Power as Natural Abilities. Ecology Physical Description Intelligence is usually proportional to the size of the creature's head in comparison to their body; the larger the head, the more room for brains, and therefore smarter the creature. Common additional limbs include prehensile tails, trunks capable of acting like suction cups, and additional arms. Their legs tend to be shorter and stubbier since they cannot run as quickly as other creatures, and their arms are thin and gangly because they lack muscle mass. * Height Range: The Intelligent Species' lack of mass is reflected in their height, which borders on dwarfism by human standards. Males and females have the same height range, standing between 4 and 5 feet tall (1.21 and 1.51 meters) and averaging at 4'6" (1.37m) tall. * Weight Range: Weak muscles means lower than average weight when comparing Intelligent Species to similarly sized humans. A healthy weight for both males and females ranges between 55 and 82 pounds (25 and 37 kilograms) for the averaged sized individual. The smallest members of the species can be as light as 40 lb (18 kg), while the tallest max out at 108 lb (49 kg). Habitat Intelligent Species congregate exclusively in cities; colonies will send out parties to extract resources from other environments, but no other space will do for living in. Their societies don't tend to cover much surface area, but their buildings will reach up towards staggering heights and descend deep into the earth. Organization Civilizations for Intelligence Species trend towards 2 directions: authoritarianism and democracy. Authoritative societies pick the smartest individual among them to lead the collective and dictate orders to whom they believe are best suited to the necessary task, valuing efficiency over free expression. Democratic societies place more value in personal freedom and the wisdom of crowds, letting ideas clash and going with the ones that hold up best under scrutiny. Either way, Intelligent Species are imperialistic and want nothing more than to spread their ideas to "uncivilized" folk, preferring diplomacy but never shying away from violence if necessary. Behavior Among their own kind, Intelligent Species have polarizing opinions of each other. Those in agreement are unfalteringly loyal towards each other, while minor disagreements will breed years and possibly lifetimes of resentment. They usually sort out conflicts with rigorous and absurdly long debates, but it's common for violence to break out; this is particularly true between authoritarian and democratic societies, which will often seek to completely destroy the other. Towards other creatures, Intelligent Species are condescending at best, and at worst they will enslave or kill other creatures indiscriminately if they can get something they want out of them.